scope:

This Standard specifies requirements for the arc welding of steel structures made up of combinations of steel plate, sheet or sections, including pipe, hollow sections and built up sections (collectively referred to herein as sheet steels) up to 4.8 mm in thickness by the following processes:

(a) Manual metal arc welding (MMAW).

(b) Gas metal arc welding (GMAW or MIG), including pulsed mode.

(c) Gas tungsten-arc welding (GTAW or TIG).

(d) Flux-cored arc welding (FCAW). The Standard is limited to the welding of steel parent material with a specified minimum yield strength not exceeding 550 MPa.

The Standard applies to the welding of steelwork in structures complying with AS/NZS 4600. The following limitations apply:

(i) For other than fatigue conditions, where welded joints are governed by dynamic loading conditions, AS/NZS 1554.1 category SP applies.

(ii) For welded joints subject to fatigue conditions (i.e. weld categories higher than detail category 118 of AS/NZS 4600), AS/NZS 1554.5 category FP.

Consistent with AS/NZS 4600, brittle fracture provisions have not been included in this Standard. For service temperatures colder than −10°C, the brittle fracture provisions of AS/NZS 1554.1 for materials and welding consumables apply (see Appendix B).

In addition to the abovementioned structures, the Standard applies to the welding of steelwork in applications other than structural.

The Standard specifies requirements equivalent to AS/NZS 1554.1 category GP arc welding. For the welding of sheet steels thicker than 4.8 mm, the requirements of AS/NZS 1554.1 apply. For stud welding through the flat portion of decking or roofing onto supporting structural members, AS/NZS 1554.2 applies.

NOTES:

1 Further information on this Standard is given in WTIA Technical Note 11.

2 GMAW includes waveform controlled welding such as 'synergic', 'programmable', and 'microprocessor controlled' processes' e.g. pulsed spray transfer, controlled short circuit transfer.